Commander Fury

The release date for “Super Robot Wars Y,” the latest in the “Super Robot Wars” series for console, has been set for Thursday, August 28! All included titles have been revealed, along with key visuals and new systems. The newly released trailer features a wealth of up-to-date information, including battle animations of the included titles, original characters for this game, and the opening theme song “Hangeki Fight Back!” by JAM Project. All titles and key visuals have been newly revealed! This title will feature new appearances by SSSS.DYNAZENON, Godzilla Singular Point, and Mobile Suit Gundam the Witch from Mercury Season 1 among many others. Macross Delta: Passionate Walküre and Getter Robo Arc are also included for the first time in the console series. In addition, it also includes titles familiar from past series such as Reideen the Brave, COMBATTLER V, and Aura Battler Dunbine, as well as titles from a wide range of generations such as Majestic Prince and Code Geass Lelouch of the Re;surrection Featured Series in SUPER ROBOT WARS Y include: Reideen the Brave COMBATTLER V Aura Battler Dunbine New Story of AURA BATTLER Dunbine Heavy Metal L-Gaim Mobile Suit Z Gundam Mobile Suit Gundam Char’s Counterattack M-MSV Mobile Fighter G Gundam Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny Mobile Suit Gundam the Witch from Mercury Season 1 Mazinkaiser VS the Great General of Darkness Getter Robo Arc Majestic Prince MACROSS Delta Macross Delta: Passionate Walküre Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion III Glorification Code Geass Lelouch of the Re;surrection Godzilla Singular Point SSSS.DYNAZENON View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image The key visual is a new illustration, featuring a background represented as a torrent of light,　inspired by the “Y” in the title. View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image Details of the original characters are revealed! One of the main characters is Cross Tsukinowa, the Head of a NINJA group “Special Stealth Forces Haze”.He puts the mission first and doesn’t allow his feelings to interfere with the job. The character is voiced by Kazumasa Fukagawa. The unit he flies is the Lunedrache, a ninja-motif unit with a distinctive scarf. View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image Another original character is Forte Tsukinowa, a member of the NINJA group “Special Stealth Forces Haze,” she may be inexperienced and somewhat immature for her age, but her positive attitude helps her overcome challenges she regularly faces. She is voiced by Aya Yamane. The unit she flies is the Lunedrache II. View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image The last characters to introduce are A. Advent and Echika Y. Franburnett, the mainstays of this story. A. Advent is a massive 3-kilometer-long ship with a city in the dome of its deck. Characters from different titles, each with their own unique backgrounds, gather here and travel around the world. Echika Y. Franburnett is the legal owner of the Mobile Fortification A. Advent. She approaches everything she does with utmost seriousness, but she can sometimes be clumsy when communicating with others. At the beginning of the story, Echika Y. Franburnett’s late father suddenly entrusted her with A. Advent on her 14th birthday. Without any explanation, she was given this powerful vessel. Although confused, she struggles to use its power for the right reasons. The character is voiced by Manaka Iwami. View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image Introducing the new system and training element: Assist Link! Assist Link is a new system in the game designed to enhance the fun of the Super Robot Series. It allows players to focus resources on their favorite units and titles, making them play a major role in battles. Unlike past series where only combat personnel like pilots and units could be enhanced, Assist Link lets users give attention to non-fighting characters such as heroines and sub-characters. These non-pilot characters support battles as sidekicks, using “Assist Commands” on the tactical map to provide various advantages. Assist Crew members can be trained and ranked up by clearing missions and using Assist Commands, with new effects added or existing ones powered up. The more you use Assist Link, the more it grows, with the maximum rank being RANK 4. At RANK 4, graphics change and players can enjoy a special conversation called “Assist Talk”. View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image We believe Super Robot Wars offers a unique opportunity to discover and deepen the love for new robot animation works. We are committed to creating Super Robot Wars Y to ensure this culture thrives in the future. More information will be shared soon, so stay tuned for updates. Meanwhile, pre-orders are now available in our digital store! View the full article

With franchise revival Onimusha: Way of the Sword in active development, there’s been a resurgence of interest in the PlayStation 2 Onimusha series. While a remaster of the original Onimusha: Warlords has been available for quite some time, it was only recently that Capcom announced that Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny would also be getting a remaster, due out on May 23. Fans of the series rejoiced at the news, and for good reason. Onimusha 2 is a fan favorite, with a unique style and gameplay elements that make it a true standout among the series. We had the opportunity to interview Motohide Eshiro, the original game director and longtime Capcom veteran, about what players old and new can expect from Onimusha 2’s remaster. Play Video Making friends and influencing people What did the team learn from the original Onimusha remaster? We learned that we could make the controls more comfortable. Onimusha 2 originally only had ‘tank controls.’ We carried over the revised controls from the previous remaster to Onimusha 2 smoothly. Would these modernized controls affect the difficulty? No, it’s more about minimizing frustration. Classic fans can choose tank controls if they prefer, but modern players can more easily get into the game this way. As far as combat goes, we faithfully carried over the Issen critical system from the original game. It won’t be any easier to perform critical attacks, since we think the critical system was really finely balanced in the original game. Can you elaborate on one of the game’s defining features: the ally system? It’s one of the defining elements of Onimusha 2. You can give gifts to other characters and form relationships with them. In return, they’ll help out Jubei in battles. Sometimes, you can control these characters, as well. Was anything altered for this system in the remaster? Like Issen, I think the ally system was well-balanced, so I didn’t have to make any tweaks or drastic changes. We considered adding a gauge over the characters’ heads to indicate your relationship status, but that wouldn’t express the depth of the characters. So you need to judge, through their reaction, the facial expressions, the comments they give you, how they feel about the gift. Heaven or Hell? What are your thoughts on the new optional Hell difficulty where any hit means instant death? It’s definitely not for all players. This is something like a challenge from the developers, especially for those players who brag about their skills. We really want players to experience epic sword battles full of tension. I haven’t been able to complete this mode yet, but we figured that if even one person in the world can complete this game, that will be OK. Another team member has been able to complete this new hell mode, so we know it’s not impossible. So I hope that players, especially those who have confidence in their skills, will play it. Even if you don’t, you can progress a little at a time by frequently saving. Of course, if you complete it, that’ll be amazing! Can you tell us about the additions of mini-games like The Man in Black, Team Oni, and Puzzle Phantom Realm? Team Oni is a game where you go through stages, not just with Jubei but with your allies, and you can switch between them. It’s crucial to switch in allies and use items strategically. Puzzle Phantom Realm is a sequence of puzzles to solve. You’ll encounter puzzle sections in the normal game, but this is just back-to-back puzzles, testing your solving skills. Lastly, there’s ‘The Man in Black.’ Jubei has a special outfit where he’s dressed in black, head to toe. Instead of battling enemies, the goal is to collect films at various locations. These all have a different vibe from the main game, and are fun in distinct ways. Enduring Legacies Onimusha 2 involved many big names in Japanese entertainment in its creation: longtime TV and game scriptwriter Noboru Sugimura, famed artist and special effects director Keita Amemiya, and the likeness of legendary actor Yusaku Matsuda. How did this ensemble come together? We wanted the world to be a blend of Japanese and Western taste. Sugimura really had a deep knowledge and respect for the era of Japanese history this game takes place. He came up with so many great ideas for the ally characters. When Sugimura and I were discussing what kind of character design we wanted, he came up with the idea of having Keita Amemiya as the main artist of the game. He made really distinctive and compelling character designs, shaping the visuals of Onimusha 2. You’ll be able to see a lot of his work in the new Gallery mode. When we were finalizing the base model for Jubei, Miyuki Matsuda, the widow of Yusaku Matsuda, came to the Capcom office to guide the team. She was hands-on in guiding us on how to tweak the face model, so it would look just like Matsuda. I felt all the passion and love Miyuki still had toward Yusaku. That was really something memorable. Any final thoughts about the game? Onimusha 2 was the first title I directed, and I’m glad I could return to the remaster as a director again. We hope new players will enjoy all the quality-of-life features, which make it easier to get into this game. I hope you enjoy it, even if you haven’t played an Onimusha game before. Onimusha 2 Samurai’s Destiny launches on PlayStation May 23. View the full article

Big games deserve big deals, and that’s exactly the focus of PlayStation Store’s new promotion, which launches tomorrow, April 23! For a limited time*, you can enjoy price reductions across a selection of titles, including Dynasty Warriors: Origins (20% off), Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (30% off) and many more. Browse a selection of games on offer below, then when the promotion goes live, head to PlayStation Store to discover your regional discount. 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With the launch of Days Gone Remastered for PlayStation 5 just around the corner, we’re excited to spotlight our expanded suite of accessibility features. Taking the foundation of our baseline list from Days Gone in 2019, we made it a priority to evolve and improve accessibility to make the player’s experience more accessible and customizable when hitting the Broken Road on April 25. Let’s dive right in! Visual features  Subtitle customization is now vaster than ever before in Days Gone. We added a total of 11 subtitle colors for you to choose based on your preference, which can also be used for the speaker’s name. Want to mix and match? No problem! Choose the subtitle text to be one color and the speaker’s name to be another color. On top of color customization, we also expanded the options for subtitle background. Originally, this could only be toggled on or off. Now, you can select between default (transparent), darkened, light, and black.  One of the biggest accessibility expansions coming to Days Gone Remastered is a fully customizable High Contrast Mode. This pairs with our High Contrast HUD that was implemented in the original game to assist with easier navigation and visibility. With High Contrast Mode, you can quickly apply predefined settings with two preset options – Primary and Secondary. However, you can also customize it to your preferences by setting the hero, friendly NPC, enemy, and interactable colors based on the 11 total color choices you also have with the subtitle settings. These contrast options are designed to increase visibility for the player during gameplay.  Subtitles and High Contrast Mode, along with other commonly used settings, can be accessible to select before even entering the game with our new Initial Setup screen as you boot up Days Gone Remastered for the first time. Further adjustments can be made in the Accessibility tab via the Options selection on the main menu, which also received an uplift providing real-time preview panels to display your chosen settings without going in-game. Audio features  Including a fully revised and improved audio mix in Days Gone Remastered, two new audio accessibility options make their debut in Days Gone for the first time – UI Narration and Collectible Audio Cues. UI Narration activates audio descriptions for the user interface reading out key information to aid players in navigating on-screen items such as all menu options and in-game Touchpad options including Inventory, Skills, and Storylines. This setting will be set to ‘ON’ as default when booting up Days Gone Remastered for the first time and can be toggled ‘OFF’ if you prefer from the Initial Setup screen.  With 240 collectibles scattered across the sprawling Pacific Northwest open world, we’ve added the option to turn Collectible Audio Cues on to sound notifications to help locate collectible objects more easily. Whether you’re playing through the Story or cleaning up open world activities, this distinct sound will help you track down those hard-to-find collectibles. In addition, you will feel increased haptic feedback through your DualSense controller mimicking the sound as you get closer to the collectible. Gameplay features  Fighting hordes, riding your Drifter bike, and sneaking through ambush camps calls for more accessibility features for you to enjoy the game at your own pace and in your own way. Take on the brutal and dynamic world of Days Gone with Customized Controls! The power is now in your hands to customize your playstyle any way you like with fully remappable controls with your DualSense controller. This is also compatible with the fully functional PlayStation Access controller. Another exciting feature coming to Days Gone Remastered is Game Speed. Game Speed determines the speed of gameplay ranging from 100% to 75%, 50%, and 25%. Game Speed is ideal for players who might feel overwhelmed in certain situations or have difficulty with various inputs in high pressure moments, specifically fighting off hordes of Freakers. Hordes are a pillar in Days Gone gameplay and with our new Horde Assault mode arriving in the remaster, we wanted to make this unique combat experience more accessible to our players. Additional features coming to Days Gone Remastered include Recenter Camera on Attack, Haptic vibration intensity sliders, Field of View, and Persistent Center Dot. We also made a quality-of-life change to our auto-complete QTE feature. Before, it was only usable on Easy difficulty. Now, you can turn on this setting in any difficulty from Easy to Survival II. Most new accessibility features are coming to Days Gone on PC as well.* At Bend Studio, we strive to create experiences that leave a lasting impact on our players. The pursuit of allowing players of all abilities to share our joy of play together inspires our work every day. We hope you enjoy the definitive version of our open world epic, and we can’t wait to see you hop on the Drifter bike and experience all Days Gone Remastered has to offer on April 25, 2025. *Update to version higher than Build ID 10034136 via Patch 1.08 required. UI Narration is not supported for Broken Road DLC on PC. Compatible controller required for haptic feedback and customized controls. For DualSense controller, wired connection required to experience the full range of in-game controller features. View the full article

Hi everyone, I’m Yasuyuki Oda, the producer of Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves. The dev team and I wanted to bring you an overview of how you can utilize the REV System to your advantage to tackle even your most formidable foes and opponents. We’ll also cover some flashy combos you can pull off and our roadmap for the Season 1 Pass DLC characters as well. Now without further ado, let’s get you all trained up and ready to jump into the world of Fatal Fury! Use the REV System to get a leg up on the competition The key to snatching victory from the jaws of defeat is proper utilization of the REV System. REV Arts allow you to power up your special moves, whereas REV Accel is a great way to create flashy combos and pressure your opponent. The REV System can also be used defensively by using the REV Guard button (R1) to help keep your opponent at bay and increase your chance of securing the win. REV Guard can be performed by pressing just one button so it’s a good strategy to use when you think your opponent is going to go in for a cross-up. Some moves this works well against are Kain’s Schwarzes Rondo setups or attacks made after B. Jenet breaks her Gulf Tomahawk. REV Guard also allows you to input other actions while it’s being pressed, so you can hold down the button and use your grab to break out of an opponent’s oncoming grab attempt or use a hop to strategically maneuver your way out of a sticky situation. Try to make it a habit of holding REV Guard on wakeup to help protect yourself in battle. The REV System can allow you to create a wide variety of different sick combos What better way to introduce some of the coolest combos in the game than our flagship returning characters, Mai Shiranui, Rock Howard, and Terry Bogard! Follow each character’s step-by-step guide to perform high-level combos you can use against your friends or online against opponents from all around the globe. Mai Shiranui (Close) Neutral HK > Feint > (Close) Neutral HP > HP Hana Arashi (braking) > REV Ryuuenbu ～ REV Sayo Chidori > HK Hissatsu Shinobi Bachi (braking) > REV Hissatsu Shinobi Bachi ～ REV Hana Arashi (braking) > Kagerou no Mai Play Video Rock Howard (Close) Neutral HK > →+Feint > ↓HP > REV Hard Edge ～ REV Rage Run Type: Layup > HP Rising Tackle (braking) > HP Reppuu Ken > REV Rising Tackle ～ REV Shippuu Ken > Raging Storm Play Video Terry Bogard (Close) Neutral HP・→ HP > →+Feint > (Far) Neutral HP > REV Burning Knuckle > REV Crack Shoot > HK Power Dunk (braking) > REV Power Charge > REV Burning Wave > REV Power Dunk > (perform in air right before landing) REV Blow > Cosmic Strike Geyser Play Video Season Pass 1 includes 5 additional characters To start off the Season 1 Pass, Terry Bogard’s brother, Andy Bogard, makes his triumphant return, utilizing a combination of Koppo and ninjutsu to take down his opponents. Hokutomaru shares some moves with Andy so anyone looking to play the younger of the Bogard brothers can start out training with Hokutomaru to get ready for when Andy will become playable later this year. Joe Higashi is a Muay Thai master and is well known for being both friendly yet hot blooded in the heat of battle. Joe, Terry, and Andy make up the legendary group of three friends that represent the Fatal Fury series, so when Joe returns this Fall, it will be a momentous occasion for fans of this legendary fighting game series. One of the major antagonists from the Art of Fighting series, the big boss man himself, Mr. Big, also makes his devious return. He utilizes bojutsu and street fighting techniques to take on the other fighters of South Town. Last but not least, we are proud to have two characters from the Street Fighter series make their appearance in the world of Fatal Fury as guest characters: Ken and Chun-Li. Look forward to when worlds collide in this legendary collaboration. Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves releases on April 24, 2025 on both PS4 and PS5, but you can preorder the game digitally right now and get up to 3 days of early access. This is the ultimate Fatal Fury title, so we hope both newcomers and hardcore fans alike will hit the streets of South Town to take on both friends and new opponents online and offline. Make sure to use the tips, tricks, and combos we outlined here to REV IT UP and UNLEASH YOUR FURY against any opponent that dares to challenge you. View the full article

PlayStation 5 Pro console — the most innovative PlayStation console to date — elevates gaming experiences to the next level with features like upgraded GPU, advanced ray tracing, and PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR) – an AI-driven upscaling that delivers super sharp image clarity with high framerate gameplay. Today we’re providing a closer look at the console’s internal architecture, as Sony Interactive Entertainment engineers Shinya Tsuchida, PS5 Pro Mechanical Design Lead and Shinya Hiromitsu, PS5 Pro Electrical Design Lead, provide a deep-dive into the console’s innovative technology and design philosophy. *In this article, we refer to the PlayStation 5 model released in 2020 as the “original PS5,” the PS5 released in 2023 as the “current PS5,” and the PS5 Pro released in 2024 as the “PS5 Pro.” *Do not try this at home. Risk of fires, and exposure to electric shock or other injuries. Disassembling your console will invalidate your manufacturer’s guarantee. Name: Shinya Tsuchida (PS5 Pro Mechanical Design Lead) (Right of photo) Name: Shinya Hiromitsu (PS5 Pro Electrical Design Lead) (Left of photo) An exterior design featuring three distinct horizontal lines Tsuchida: Before we begin the teardown, I’ll start by going over the PS5 Pro’s exterior design. PS5 Pro is a high performing console, so it requires more air to cool it down. The distinctive three slits are new airflow paths that were not present in the original PS5, or the current PS5. This design was conceived through extensive discussions between the engineers and designers, and we refer to them as ‘blades’ within the engineering team. The slits enhance airflow while also acting as a design element. Exterior design comparison between the original PS5 (left), the current PS5 (center) and PS5 Pro (right). PS5 Pro is slightly smaller in size compared to the original PS5. While the look of the PS5 Pro is consistent with the rest of the PS5 family of products, it features three distinct blades that contribute to improved ventilation. ‘Louvers’ between the main unit and cover help to make the console quieter Tsuchida: Inside the PS5 Pro, there is a structure called a “louver” that sits between the main unit and cover, which looks like a series of slats or fins. While it’s part of the design, it also prevents some of the fan noise from escaping the console towards the front direction. Since most users will play games while facing the front of the console, we intentionally designed the system to make it harder for players to hear the fan. Rear changes for more efficient airflow Tsuchida: Next, let’s take a look at the back of the console. We place importance on the types and arrangement of the input/output ports. Since the power button is something everyone uses, there’s been a shared understanding among our successive design teams that it’s better to have it positioned at the bottom rather than the top when the console is placed vertically. On the other hand, the positions of the HDMI, LAN, and USB ports are placed slightly higher compared to the current PS5. This is because the PS5 Pro’s mainboard features a high-density circuit design, and the port placement has been adjusted to accommodate the change. The vent (exhaust vent) surface is also larger compared to other PS5 models, and air is taken in and exhausted from the rear and bottom surfaces. The size of the intake and exhaust vents is important for better ventilation, and we knew from preliminary research that they needed to be larger than the current PS5, so we decided on the size after discussing with the design team. The teardown begins Tsuchida: Let’s start the teardown. On the top side, just like in previous PS5 models, a dust catcher is provided for cleaning purposes. On the bottom side, there is an M.2 SSD slot, a disc drive connector, and a hatch for inserting a coin cell battery. Tsuchida:The screw holding the battery is intentionally designed to stay attached to the battery cover, preventing it from being lost or accidentally swallowed—a thoughtful safety feature. A new fan that quietly increases air flow Tsuchida: After disconnecting the fan cables, we can now remove the blades and inner shell. I’m also removing the fan itself. Like I mentioned earlier, the PS5 Pro requires more air for cooling, and the fan is designed to generate airflow more efficiently. The overall size of the fan is larger than the current PS5 model’s as well. Comparison of the PS5 Pro’s fan (left) and the current PS5 model’s fan (right) Tsuchida: The two fans have the same number of blades, but our teams re-designed the blade shape for further optimization. If you look closely, you can see that there are even smaller blades in between each blade. Generally speaking, if a fan has good airflow efficiency, it’s considered better and higher performing. However, we designed our fans to be more than that — we wanted our fans to produce more air “quietly.” It may be generally acceptable for fans to be louder as long as it’s creating more airflow, but this isn’t the case for game consoles as it can disrupt the gameplay experience. I think this specific design philosophy is unique to PlayStation consoles. Screws to suppress electromagnetic noise Tsuchida: Now let’s remove the metal shield located further inside the cabinet. The shield is secured to the mainboard with a large number of screws—and there’s a reason for that. Most components on the mainboard generate electromagnetic noise. Since this noise can interfere with nearby electronic devices, such as smartphones, and potentially disrupt their operation, we must suppress the amount of electromagnetic emissions to be kept below a certain threshold. The screws securing the shield are strategically placed to reduce electromagnetic interference. An evolved motherboard that achieves heightened gameplay Tsuchida: Once we remove the top and bottom shields, you’ll reach the PS5 Pro’s motherboard. One characteristic of PS5 consoles is that they leverage liquid metal with excellent thermal conductivity for the TIM (Thermal Interface Material) of its main processor. Before we get into details, I’ll provide some explanation using a board before the liquid metal is applied. PS5 Pro’s motherboard is larger than that of the current PS5. The current PS5 model’s board is curved where the fan sits, but the PS5 Pro has a larger board due to the increased number of circuits required to achieve PS5 Pro’s enhanced performance, which changed the position of the fan. As I mentioned earlier, you’ll notice the location of the input and output ports on the back of the unit is different as well. The top side of PS5 Pro’s motherboard. The top side of current PS5 model’s motherboard. Hiromitsu: The SoC (System-on-a-Chip) is the large chip you see on the center of the board. This chip handles the rendering of high-resolution, high-frame-rate graphics, including the PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR), which uses AI-enhanced resolution for ultra-high-definition gameplay. To maximize the performance of the SoC, the power delivery lines have also been enhanced compared to the current PS5. In addition, PS5 Pro’s board has more layers compared to the current PS5. If you look closely at the surface of the current PS5 model’s motherboard, you can see the traces that connect the SoC and RAM. However, on the PS5 Pro’s board, the traces are barely visible on the surface. This is because the PS5 Pro’s motherboard was designed with additional internal layers, which allows signal traces to be routed more efficiently through the inner layers achieving even faster memory performance. Now let’s compare the back side of the motherboards. The main visible difference is that the number of RAMs placed around the SoC has increased from eight to nine. All PS5 consoles up to the current PS5 were equipped with eight chips of high-speed GDDR6 memory, which handled high-speed rendering for games as well as low-speed processing for the rest of the OS. In the PS5 Pro, we added a ninth DDR5 memory which is dedicated to the slower processing, while the remaining eight GDDR6 memories handle all the high-speed rendering required for gameplay. The GDDR6 RAMs themselves have also been improved and are faster than those equipped on the previous PS5 models as well. The back side of PS5 Pro’s motherboard. A ninth DDR5 memory chip was added to the upper right corner (circled in red in the photo), in addition to the eight GDDR6 laid out in a circle. The back side of the current PS5 model’s motherboard. The innovative use of liquid metal became an integral piece of technology that has been carried over to successive PS5 models. Tsuchida: Using liquid metal as the TIM in the original PS5 was quite challenging at the time. Since liquid metal has far superior cooling capabilities compared to conventional TIMs, we adopted it after conducting various tests to ensure its safety. We spent quite some time conducting research on insulation when we were designing the original PS5. The basic structure remains the same in the PS5 Pro, but we made some improvements by adding fine grooves where the liquid metal is applied, so that the cooling effect is more stable. When we were doing research for the original PS5, we anticipated that semiconductors would continue to advance and become much denser, so we believed liquid metal technology would become crucial. It turns out we were right, and it was integral when designing the PS5 Pro. For more stable cooling, grooves have been added where the liquid metal is applied. Developing a larger power supply unit with higher output Hiromitsu: This is the power supply unit. The PS5 Pro outputs about 48W more compared to the current PS5 and is also larger in size. The curved power supply units are meticulously designed for each PS5 iteration, so that it fits perfectly into the chassis. Fun fact, the unit has “Sony Interactive Entertainment” engraved near the bottom, so it’s easy to tell which side is the top or bottom. This obviously isn’t immediately visible to the consumer, but it is a small detail that indicates the correct orientation when the console is placed vertically. A perfectly placed heat sink Tsuchida:The heat pipes are made of copper. The silver components of the heat sink are made of aluminum to dissipate heat, and the rest of the gray parts are made of steel. PS5 Pro’s heat sink has more heat pipes, as the console requires a more powerful heat sink to support its high performance. The heat pipes are located next to the SoC, and the fins that transfer heat from the heat pipes are divided into two sections. A heat sink’s cooling capabilities vary greatly depending on its placement, so we put a lot of effort into finding the perfect layout. Adopting Wi-Fi 7 for even faster connectivity Hiromitsu: On the top side of the mainboard, you’ll find the Wi-Fi 7 module. Wi-Fi 7 is a new standard released in 2024, and we chose to adopt it for the PS5 Pro based on its high performance and future potential. During the development of the PS5 Pro, Wi-Fi 7 had not yet been officially released, which made the validation process quite challenging. But we were glad we were able to become early adopters for a gaming console when we got it certified in time for launch in regions that supported Wi-Fi 7. The white section visible at the bottom right of the top side of the board is the Wi-Fi 7 module. An antenna is also located just beneath it. And that’s a wrap! We hope you enjoyed getting an inside look at the internal architecture of the PS5 Pro. Each component works together in harmony to realize the console’s innovative features, like stunning graphics and smooth gameplay. View the full article

Last week, we asked you embark on Joel, Ellie, and Abby’s full journey in The Last of Us Complete using #PSshare #PSBlog. Here are this week’s highlights: Wulfsychic shares Joel walking away from the guitar, in focus in the foreground ​​ FranTGP shares a detailed shot of Ellie’s iconic tshirt PattyGnand shares Ellie making funny faces at Joel in the mirror ipecarts shares older Ellie staring down heavily at a gun in her hand ​​ tloupix shares Abby in the Bomber skin grimacing theluizlewiss shares a side profile portrait of Joel Search #PSshare #PSBlog on Twitter or Instagram to see more entries to this week’s theme. Want to be featured in the next Share of the Week? THEME: Nature SUBMIT BY: 11:59 PM PT on April 23, 2025 Next week, we’re feeling earthy. Share plants, trees, and all things nature from the game of your choice using #PSShare #PSBlog for a chance to be featured. View the full article

Overwatch 2 is on the verge of releasing the biggest new way to play since Overwatch was first announced in 2014. Stadium is the new best-of-7 mode where you’ll upgrade your Hero over multiple rounds with more powerful abilities to transform what it means to play Overwatch. On a team of five, you’ll earn Stadium Cash each round based on how well you do through eliminations, healing, damage mitigation, and more, using that Cash to buy Items between rounds that will improve things like survivability or damage done. You’ll also be able to select all-new abilities, like Moira having three-orbs or Reinhardt converting his shield into a healing barrier. It’ll take strategy and adaptation to excel when Stadium launches on April 22. To talk about how Stadium’s unique new abilities and Hero builds came together, we talked with Senior Game Designer, Dylan Snyder! How did your team approach building Stadium compared to the core version of Overwatch 2? Snyder: Stadium is the Overwatch team trying to push player fantasy, play expression, and strategic gameplay to their limits within the core Overwatch that you know and love. We have long wanted to have a test ground for some bigger-than-reality ideas for these heroes. But the core gameplay of Overwatch 2 really focuses on competitive integrity, so we approach Stadium as kind of a place to go nuts to let loose a little bit and that’s Stadium. What are the different types of upgrades players can make to their Heroes? Snyder: A huge component of Stadium is the Armory; it’s where you start every match, and it’s where you return when in your spawn room between rounds. We wanted an easy to read yet fun way to spend Stadium Cash on your Heroes. In the Armory, you can buy Items that offer a range from simple Stat boosts to your damage or healing output, to ones that punch up specific abilities. Then there are Powers that are unlocked before rounds 1, 3, 5, and 7, and they are incredibly cool ways to play with really strong new abilities. You want to shoot Ana’s Nano Boost ultimate at your teammates through walls? Because with the right Items and Powers, you can shoot Ana’s Nano Boost ultimate at your teammates through walls.   What are some of the popular Builds and abilities on the dev team? Snyder: There are so many. One of the really fun things we’ve seen in playtests has been the huge number of ways people find to play their favorite Heroes. A few people on the team have latched onto a really fun Double Helix build for Soldier: 76, which can be devastating against opponents that haven’t focused much on upgrading their survivability. But one of my personal favorite builds is focused on Ana’s Nano Boost; you can boost your entire team through walls. This has proven clutch for me personally in matches where I am killed while in overtime but still able to support my team before getting fully back to the fight. Are there any builds or abilities that surprised you? Snyder: A build that I’ve come to love that I didn’t ever expect to is for Junker Queen. I am not a Junker Queen main and have probably played her the least of any Hero live, but for whatever reason, she is my favorite Tank to play in Stadium. Specifically, because I can swing the axe so much more often, and I can turn it into a leaping strike. Nothing feels better than surprising a Juno or Mercy mid-air by hopping up to meet them with a Carnage swing; it never gets old. And you can spec into everything causing wounds, keeping you alive! It’s wonderful. It’s like the version of Junker Queen that was made for me, who is terrible at staying alive in fights. And that’s all I ever wanted, to not die in embarrassing fashion in front of lots of people, but I didn’t know until Stadium. What are some starting tips for players? Snyder: Use the suggested Example builds! And have fun testing things out in the Practice Range. Knowing what your Hero can do will make countering the other team, and building synergy with your teammates, that much easier. Are there any abilities or Items that didn’t make into Stadium that you hope to add in the future? Snyder: Nothing I can go into detail just yet! In the course of developing Stadium, we have quite a backlog of really exciting and promising ideas that we just weren’t able to implement ahead of Season 16. We’re pretty focused on developing a strong, solid foundation to set ourselves up for future Seasons with more Heroes, modes, maps, and abilities, and we feel that we’re in a really good place. And so some conversations are happening about some of those earlier ideas that didn’t quite make it. That can add even more variety to the round to round experience that players have in Stadium. Stadium launches when Season 16 goes live, on April 22! With initial Heroes, more will be added every Season so stay tuned for more updates and details! Thank you. View the full article

Hello everyone! On behalf of The Game Kitchen, in collaboration with Dotemu, Koei Tecmo Games, and Team Ninja, we’re incredibly excited to reveal a brand-new addition to Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound: a second, fully original playable character from the Hayabusa Clan’s long-standing rivals: the legendary Black Spider Clan. In this post, we’d like to take you behind the scenes of how this idea came to life, what you can expect from this new character, and some gameplay details we’re especially thrilled to share. Play Video When we first began designing new characters for Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound, one question sparked our imagination: Wouldn’t it be amazing to play as a member of an enemy faction? It’s something we always dream of in our favorite franchises, those rare moments when a game lets you get to step into the shoes of someone from the other side. The Black Spider Clan, a central presence in the 3D Ninja Gaiden installments, has always intrigued us with its fierce style and unforgettable characters. So we asked ourselves: Why not bring them back in a whole new way? That’s how the idea of Kumori was born. Verify your age to view this content. Verify your age to view this content. Verify your age to view this content. Verify your age to view this content. Kumori is a proud kunoichi of the Black Spider Clan and serves as a compelling counterpart to Kenji, the game’s other protagonist. While Kenji is still learning under the guidance of his master, Ryu Hayabusa, Kumori has already earned her place as the top fighter in her clan. Following a near-collapse of the Black Spider Clan, she carries the burden of rebuilding and protecting their future. Ruthless and pragmatic, Kumori fights without restraint and embraces modern weaponry, enemy techniques, and even demonic powers to fulfill her mission. She follows no traditional code, only the path that leads to victory. Unlike Kenji, who fights with a katana and focuses on close-range combat, Kumori wields kunai, granting her high range, rapid attack speed, and the ability to strike from nearly any position or surface. Her agility and adaptability make her an exceptional fighter, especially when engaging enemies in hard-to-reach areas or chaotic encounters. Verify your age to view this content. Verify your age to view this content. Despite their differences, Kenji and Kumori share common values: they are both driven by loyalty, honor, and a fierce sense of duty to their clans. Though they come from opposing sides, they represent a new generation of warriors shaped by legacy but not bound by the past. Their paths intertwine in a pivotal moment when they face a powerful demonic threat, trapping both in the demon world. Faced with annihilation, they make an unthinkable choice: to merge their strength, knowing full well their clans would never accept such an alliance. This unholy alliance is both a blessing and a curse: a necessary bond that will forever alter their destinies. Verify your age to view this content. Verify your age to view this content. As fused warriors, players gain access to the best of both characters, combining their weapons, abilities, and a new energy source: Ki. As players harvest Ki from enemies, Kumori’s spirit can summon powerful Spider Weapons, such as a Kama or a Chakram, capable of slicing through walls and enemies alike, unlocking new ranges, and delivering massive damage. Their combined rage also fuels devastating attacks. Every time an enemy is defeated with a Hypercharged attack, their fury grows. Once their rage reaches a peak, players can unleash a screen-clearing attack, a spectacular display of vengeance and power. True to the spirit of Ninja Gaiden, the gameplay remains fast, fluid, and relentless. All weapons and techniques are seamlessly integrated and there’s no need to stop to switch characters. Combat flows naturally, keeping the adrenaline high and the action nonstop. Equipping your characters also plays a crucial role. Players can collect Golden Scarabs to unlock new upgrades, talismans, and techniques. Kenji’s talismans focus on passive enhancements, such as boosting melee damage, improving defenses, or enhancing Hypercharge effects. Kumori, on the other hand, brings a unique twist with her Shadow Arts, unlocking new Spider Weapons and powerful Ragebound Arts tailored to different playstyles and tactical approaches. Verify your age to view this content. Verify your age to view this content. Since Kumori’s physical body remains trapped in the demon world, only her spirit travels with Kenji, but through Demonic Altars, she can temporarily return to her corporeal form. These moments allow her to interact with an alternate demonic dimension, revealing hidden paths invisible to human eyes. However, her time in this state is limited, forcing players to think fast, solve puzzling situations, and overcome intense challenges before time runs out. These segments offer thrilling platforming sequences, strategic combat scenarios, and unique exploration opportunities that are designed to add to the game’s rhythm and depth. We hope you’ve enjoyed this first look at Kumori. We can’t wait for you to experience both the path of the Hayabusa Ninja and the path of the Black Spider Ninja in this exciting new chapter of the Ninja Gaiden legacy. Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound will be available for PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 Summer 2025. View the full article

Welcome home, PlayStation 5 players! I’m excited to share some news about our cozy fantasy life-sim adventure, Palia. First and foremost, we’re bringing Palia’s enchanting world to the PS5 on May 13 – complete with all the bells and whistles that only Sony’s hardware can deliver. I have a lot to share with you, so let’s get right into it! Play Video Palia has more than 6 million players, which means that some of you are already familiar with our game. For those who aren’t, Palia is a stress-free refuge where you and your friends can unwind together and explore a gorgeous fantasy world at your own pace. It’s filled with crafting opportunities, customization options, and plenty of exploration to keep you busy for years to come. We know that self-expression is one of the cool things that makes us human, and we’ve extended that into our little corner of the virtual world. Every Palia resident can design and decorate their own home to perfectly suit their individual tastes. Want to live in a cozy cabin and bask in the glow of a crackling fireplace? Go for it! Or maybe you’re looking for something a little more stately. How about an upscale Tudor Revival-inspired mansion (la di dah!)? Or maybe all you need is a place to store your loot and you couldn’t give a rip about aesthetics. I’m not here to judge, you absolute monster (jk, hehe! We’re all about letting you put your unique stamp on the world – and in the lives of our cast of charming (and romanceable!) Villagers. The PlayStation 5 launch is timed around Palia’s most ambitious updates to date, the long-awaited Elderwood expansion. This drop provides all players a massive new location to explore, Elderwood. What a coincidence! This ancient overgrown forest is brimming with magical essence, some of which has been spreading in the shadows beneath its leafy canopy. You’ll be able to investigate the mysteries behind this stunning new Adventure Zone through an engaging line of story quests that will have you exploring the deepest cave to the tallest tree. During your adventures, you’ll face a variety of fierce(ish) new magical creatures… this is a cozy game after all! Don’t worry, though: You’ll be able to harness the power of the all-new Relic system, which grants buffs for your entire party. At Singularity 6, we’ve been fans of the PlayStation 5’s DualSense controller from the moment we first held one. Our team has worked hard to fully integrate the DualSense’s one-of-a-kind suite of cool features in Palia, and we think you’ll love what we’ve been able to do with it. The Light Bar changes color based on what skill is currently in use, such as fishing, hunting, mining, and more. It also flashes gold when you make a Guild Store purchase or sale with in-game gold – ka-ching! Adaptive Triggers are tied to in-game skills, providing real-time feedback while hunting, choppin’ down trees, and performing other in-game skills. When you hook a shark on your fishing line (yes, we have sharks), you’ll definitely know! These features are all incorporated on PlayStation Portal, too, in case you want to tuck in and get really cozy. Palia was designed with online multiplayer and community in mind, and we fully support cross-play multiplayer across PlayStation 5, PC, and additional consoles. The Elderwood Expansion is a particularly exciting moment for our community because everyone will be experiencing it together for the first time on May 13. While this is the first time all you people have the chance to kick back and relax with Palia on PlayStation 5, we’ve been busy delivering monthly game updates and seasonal content to keep the game fresh since we first released it in late 2023. It truly is a great time to join our friendly and helpful community and carve out your own little cozy space in Palia’s charming world. View the full article

Welcome–or welcome back–to Days Gone, Bend Studio’s sprawling open-world adventure-survival epic. In this PlayStation 5 remaster launching April 25, you’ll once again be able to enjoy Deacon St. John’s journey across the gorgeous natural beauty of the Oregon wilderness–provided you can deal with the mind-boggling amount of mutant Freaker monstrosities that want to shred you into tiny little chunks. We reached out to Kevin McAllister, Creative and Product Lead at Bend Studio, for some additional details about the anticipated remaster, including its notable new additions. So grab your survival gear, gas up your bike, and read on to hear about how Days Gone is better than ever on the PlayStation 5. Play Video Back in the days We first asked how Bend Studio feels about revisiting their flagship game, “Days Gone is a special game for us,” says McAllister. “It’s a special game to our players, too. We got the opportunity to remaster a game that we released originally on the PS4 in 2019 and ported to the PC in 2021. Six years after the original, technology has improved–we have the power of the PS5 now. There was a lot more we could do to showcase the game’s potential.” We then asked about how the PlayStation 5’s capabilities are enhancing the Days Gone experience. “The graphical improvements we’ve made–you’ll see the difference,” McAllister explains. “There’s increased lighting, increased shadow quality ,increased fog depth. For example, night time is now darker; the moon is more natural-looking. The blue sky is more natural, too–Days Gone is a very realistic-looking game. And we’ve taken that to a new level with the PS5.” Sounds like a great fit for the remaster’s new-and-improved Photo Mode, with more lighting options and instant day-and-night switches for beautiful environmental photography. McAllister continues: “Gameplay-wise, right off the top of my head is increased horde sizes. That’s very specific to our new gameplay mode, Horde Assault. And these hordes, they get big. Like, how big? So, for example, the biggest horde in the story is the old sawmill horde, which is a mission that has 500 Freakers. In Horde Assault, we have hordes that range up to 800 Freakers. They cover the screen, that’s for sure.” Crowd control McAllister bringing up these huge hordes felt like the perfect time to ask him to dig deeper into the remaster’s new Horde Assault mode. “It’s our new survival arcade mode, a fresh, unique take on the core Days Gone gameplay loop. We took everything you had in the story mode, built upon that, and took the challenges that we released post-launch and evolved the concept. So, now you have these big open regions, you’re facing a bunch of hordes, and they’re coming from different angles on you. You’re seeing hordes at totally new locations than what you saw in the story, and the hordes at familiar locations are even bigger. Play Video “Horde Assault gives you all the tools at your disposal from the start. New players can jump in and play it right away, and they can experience the core, open world gameplay of Days Gone, but now you’re having the maxed out motorcycle with you, and some new weapons, too. There’s also human enemies alongside evolved Freakers like breakers, reachers, and screamers. It’s a lot more chaotic, but it’s the true Days Gone gameplay experience. It’s a really cool and fun mode, and I think fans are really going to enjoy it.” Another new mode coming to the remaster is a Speedrun mode. “Speedrun mode is separated from the other modes,” he explains. “When you go into speedrun mode, you can play it on any of the difficulties. There’s an always-on-screen timer that will pause during cinematics. Each time you go through, it records your time next to that difficulty. At the very end of your speed run, you get a special graphic showing your detailed stats to share.” We asked McAllister about the thought process behind this addition. “With Days Gone, there are players that have tried and done speed runs, but it wasn’t a big thing. So giving new players who may not have tried the game before a speed running mode–maybe that’s exactly what they wanted. Now they’re able to jump in, have fun, and use their expertise to finish the game as quickly as possible. I respect those players, because that’s something I can’t do, and it’s really impressive to see.” High-stakes survival Another major addition–and perhaps the most intimidating–is permadeath mode, which is exactly what it sounds like: If Deacon dies, the run’s over, no saving. Harsh, but also very fitting for Days Gone’s world. According to McAllister, the players are to thank for helping the team cook this up. “Permadeath mode was implemented because of community feedback. It’s actually something we wanted as far back as 2019, so this was the perfect opportunity to add it. We’ve seen players create videos doing things like trying to go through a whole run taking no damage at all, only using the very weak boot knife. Well, what’s the ultimate challenge? Deathless. So now, you’re really getting that true survival experience. I think players are going to dig it.” “You can play the mode on any difficulty, and there’s two settings to choose from. If you choose whole game, wherever you die in the story, you have to start from the very beginning–your save file gets deleted. If you choose per act, so say, if you die at the old saw mill horde again, you only return to that beginning of the act. That’s going to save you hours of gameplay in this mode. But for the players who do play the whole game: we salute you. We also think trees are going to be the biggest cause of death in this mode. I may be speaking from experience,” he laughs. Finally, what sort of advice does McAllister have for people who want to take on this challenge? “You must be more cautious this time around,” he points out. “Scavenge supplies every chance you get and be more methodical with your approach. When you’re going through an ambush camp, you want to make sure you’re prepared before you leave, because you can run into a horde or a bear. If you don’t have the ammo, the run’s over. Also, there’s an early point in the story where you have to make a decision on which camp to give a stash to. Choose Tucker’s camp–you have access to better weapons quicker, which makes a huge difference in the early game.” Days Gone Remastered will be available for PlayStation 5 on April 25. View the full article

Hello fellow precision platform junkies! I’m Juhana, the Creative Director of Bionic Bay – my most ambitious project yet. Bionic Bay is a precision-puzzle platformer set in an ancient bio-mechanical world, hand-crafted pixel by pixel to create a high-fidelity, atmospheric environment. Bionic Bay started as a chance meeting between me (Mureena) and Psychoflow studio, on a Reddit post showcasing their swap mechanic. We soon began to collaborate, merging their technical expertise with my experience in level design and art direction from previous titles such as Badland 1 and 2. Creating Bionic Bay: One pixel at a time The humble swap mechanic remains a central gameplay mechanic, but Bionic Bay has seen incredible growth since we started. We knew early on that the biggest hurdle would be to create environments which provided a challenge without becoming frustrating. In addition, this balanced challenge would be hosted within intricately detailed and hand-crafted pixel-art environments, taking significant time to create. We approached these development challenges with a simple two-part solution. Firstly, I would focus on level design and art, and Psychoflow would work on the technical solution to make sure our mechanics looked great and worked well. Perhaps more important, we agreed that we would all regularly jump in and play each level, experiencing it just as a player would. We have carried this on all the way to release, and this has helped us to ensure great balance, and that we understand the player journey through Bionic Bay. We all love a precision platformer, but we also wanted to make sure that Bionic Bay provides a unique and worthwhile experience, and that comes down to the game’s core mechanics. This began with the swap feature which first brought Mureena and Psychoflow together – allowing players to switch places with objects within each level. This was soon joined by more tools, with each undergoing regular playthrough testing: ChronoLag, our time dilation technology which allows players to slow down time for a short period. As well as allowing players to navigate through fast-moving areas, it’s also a great way of getting speed boosts to help you get faster times in our ghost data racing mode. Power Fist, providing the opportunity to launch objects across the environment. As well as clearing space in the solo story, used in conjunction with ChronoLag has led to some imaginative puzzle solving to speed up your journey Gravity Manipulation, allowing players to bend the very forces of reality. This can help to clear paths, or help find new paths. It’s important to be careful, however, as this new gravitational direction will also affect loose objects on the level which can lead to… unintended cessation of all life signs. Of course, players will be introduced to these mechanics as you progress through Bionic Bay’s ancient bio-mechanical world. Some you’ll be able to use together, and players will often need to combine these tools (as well as quick thinking and precise controls) in order to overcome the challenges you’ll face. As well as using these within our narrative single-player adventure, players can also find our dedicated online challenge mode with Bionic Bay Online. Bionic Bay Online allows players to compete for the fastest time on a course, racing against other players’ data ghosts – something which should speak to those of us racing on PlayStation in the late 90’s and early 2000’s. To compete in Bionic Bay Online, players will need to use all of the tools at your disposal, and find creative solutions to take the top spot on the leaderboard. We will also be adding special post-launch content for Bionic Bay, including dedicated time challenge levels to allow you to showcase your skills to the world. A legendary PlayStation collaboration We are ecstatic to announce that Bionic Bay also has a collaboration with one of our biggest fans – PlayStation legend Shuhei Yoshida. We’ll be implementing a special level just for Shu within the online challenge mode following Bionic Bay’s launch on April 17. If you take part and beat Shu’s score, you can even unlock our Shu skin, allowing you to customize the look of your scientist for our online leaderboards. As well as Shu’s own player skin, we’re also bringing you a Deluxe edition of Bionic Bay – with our Classic Monster skin pack. This includes eight costumes inspired by vintage horror (a personal favourite genre of mine), with an alien, a werewolf and more. The Classic Monster pack allows players to unleash a little frightful charm and really sink your fangs into the online leaderboards. The bio-mechanical world of Bionic Bay opens up on PlayStation 5 this Thursday – April 17, and is available to wishlist now! View the full article

The first episode of Don’t Nod’s narrative adventure, Lost Records: Bloom & Rage, ended with a hell of a cliffhanger: a massive discovery of something unknown, possibly malevolent, and a devastating revelation about one of the story’s central figures. As the second episode, or tape, of this player-choice-driven, nostalgia-powered story aims to draw things to their conclusion when Lost Records: Bloom & Rage Tape 2 launches April 15 day one into the PlayStation Plus Game Catalog, players have been left wondering what to expect. To dig deeper into the game’s ambitions and get some further insight on what to expect from Swann, Nora, Autumn, and Kat’s next escapade, we sat down for a chat with Michel Koch, Creative Director at Don’t Nod’s Montreal studio. You Oughta Know Koch was eager to tell us how this experience would differ from the first. “The first Tape, ‘Bloom’, is the nice and sunny part of the beginning of the summer, of you meeting and bonding with those girls. The second half is called ‘Rage’, which is mostly the aftermath of the cliffhanger at the end of Tape 1. We wanted Tape 1 to let the player find their own space within the group of friends, getting a feeling of a summer where you meet friends, but also giving hints of weird things. They’re finding the clearing. They’re finding the abyss. It’s a very natural story of four girls having a fun summer together before Swann moves away.” “But Tape 2 will focus more on this weirder part of the story. We know what happened at the end of the summer. We still don’t know why, but we know that they promise not to see each other again. We know about the weird box, we know about Kat, but we don’t know the consequences of this revelation. How do you continue to have a normal summer with your friends? And, of course, the continuation of what’s happening with those weird things they found in the forest. ​​ Those supernatural elements will be more important. Personally, I love trying to blend supernatural things and surrealism revolving around the story of our characters. You can create a darker, weirder mood while still focusing on the characters and then adding the characters. We create this vibe, and it will get stronger and play a huge part of the story’s resolution.” The pacing in this follow-up will be more brisk, as well. “Tape 2 definitely picks up the pace,” he continues. “We saw what happened with Kat and the end of the concert, and Tape 2 will start the next day with Swann having to face kind of the guilt, even if it’s not our fault, of putting friends in danger. We’ll advance through the month of August up to the end events. So yes, it’s faster paced, with higher stakes.” Koch also emphasized that players will see more of how their choices in tape one affect the overall narrative. “We had a lot of choices. Who you are talking to, who you are getting closest to, all those interpersonal relationships with the girls, and so on. What was the choice you made during the ritual? What did you do at the abyss? How did you react to Corey and Dylan in the times you were with them? Are you behaving in a more violent or unlawful way, or are you sometimes taking the route to be cautious? A lot of those will change the course of what’s happening in Tape 2.” Girls on Film One of the most interesting features of tape one was the camcorder, which protagonist Swann carries with her everywhere to chronicle her life in Velvet Cove, Michigan. Players could tape objects of interest as in-game collectibles or just film whatever and edit it together to make mini-movies. However, the camcorder becomes a crucial plot and gameplay element at several points. We asked Koch about the role the camcorder will play in Tape 2. “We are expanding it a bit. We wanted to give you a tool that’s Swann’s ‘weapon’ or ‘shield.’ She’s filming people, but she’s also hiding behind the camcorder. We wanted to make it fun in a way that’s engaging like it was to film things in the 90s. We wanted to use these mechanics to link a lot of other mechanics of the game. So, in Tape 2, there will be a few more exotic moments: unlocking a puzzle or finding a solution to a clue or something you have to do. There is a twist with the camcorder and your videos that I don’t want to spoil, that hopefully will resonate with players. It will be the way you film the game that will be important at a point story-wise, and hopefully, there will be a strong connection between those pictures and your own journey.” Will Tape 2 also include more puzzles than the handful seen in the first half? Koch says yes. “There are puzzles that I really like in Tape 2. One is more like a narrative puzzle that’s still a blend of interaction, moving around, and dialogue. I think it’s very interesting because it uses all our narrative design elements, dialog options, and your knowledge about the characters to unlock situations, not just by finding objects but also by really knowing someone and using your main tools of dialogue and the camcorder.” Tonight, Tonight What about the other half of the narrative, the friends reuniting in a bar again 27 years later? “That part will still take place mostly in the bar,” says Koch. “We still need to finish remembering the past. We need to open the box, which will be an important scene. We have four different main endings at the end of the present-day portion, with variations on those endings based on your choices. During those endings, we will get out of the bar. You might discover a bit more of how the town is today, 27 years later.” The bar, he explains, is what the game’s whole concept was built around originally. “Our pitch was a story where we were trying to convey the feeling of meeting again with old friends you haven’t seen for a long time, having a discussion with them, where you would be remembering your past and seeing if you can reconnect with them today. I thought of having a moment in a bar, in a restaurant, or a room where you start to connect again, and sometimes you reconnect perfectly. Sometimes, it’s iffy, and you don’t know if you can still be friends. That was the interesting part for me, the narrative aspect. Within these walls, you’re forced to talk. You’re facing each other, so you are obliged to remember the past.” We asked Koch if he had any closing comments for fans. “I would say to the players, thanks for playing Tape 1, and I hope that Tape 2 will fulfill their hope of where the game goes. I also hope that Tape 2 will surprise them where the game goes, and that they enjoy seeing how relationship choice and morality choices they made in tape one play out. What will happen in Tape 2 will surprise, but also hopefully satisfy them, and they will love the end of the journey. For new players, I hope that they will love the characters, interacting with those girls, and engaging with this story, with us, with the summer.” View the full article

What happened to the ghost colony on Tau Ceti IV and the infamous Marathon ship that started it all? Decades after the original Marathon trilogy, the Bungie development team is ready to dive back into the world of Tau Ceti IV in their upcoming team-based extraction shooter, Marathon. The game launches on PS5, Steam, and Xbox Series X|S on September 24. Today we’ll be covering some of the highlights from the live Marathon Gameplay Reveal Showcase. For all the details, you can watch the livestream here. Play Video A deadly competition In Marathon, players work together in crews of three to scavenge the remnants of the lost colony on Tau Ceti IV. In their search for the powerful weapons and equipment left behind, they’ll face AI security forces, otherworldly threats, and rival Runner teams competing for loot. Death is part of the journey—it’s a cutthroat world, and it’s not possible to survive every expedition. But every time you make it out alive, you get to keep everything you scavenged, which means you’ll grow in power and fill your vault across matches. You’re only ever one run away from your next big score. For your first look at gameplay, check out the Gameplay Reveal Trailer debuted in today’s livestream. Play Video Enjoy your new shell At the heart of Marathon are Runners. Runners are cybernetic mercenaries who’ve given up their human form for biosynthetic shells. They’ve sacrificed a piece of their humanity for a slice of immortality that allows their consciousness to be transferred upon death. In Marathon, you’ll choose from a roster of Runners with unique abilities, stats, and styles. While each Runner brings their own flare, they’re also a foundation for you to customize your playstyle. To do so, you’ll collect implants and other equipment during your runs that you can use to augment your Runner and dial them into how you want to play. “For example, Glitch is all about agility, movement, and going fast. You can lean into this style harder by stacking implants and upgrades that reduce heat build-up and allow you to keep running, jumping, and sliding longer before having to cool down,” says Kevin Yanes, Senior Design Lead. “There are also rare items that can really push the boundaries like Prestige Cores. Glitch has one that will upgrade her double jump to a triple jump, giving you a lot of maneuverability in the air.” Combined with Bungie’s best-in-class gunplay and a wide range of weapons to loot, you can flex your Runner into multiple different playstyles. Learn more about Runners (and more) in the new Gameplay Overview Trailer. Play Video Returning to Tau Ceti The original Marathon series released in the 1990s established a foundation for experiential storytelling that’s become a hallmark for Bungie games. “The interweaving of narratives, events, and characters in the original trilogy delivered a world of discovery, wonder, and misdirection,” says Narrative Leader Jonathan Goff. Players were challenged to engage with the stories they encountered on their own terms, either as passive observers or active investigators into computer terminal tidbits and other environmental clues. “We’re embracing this approach to expand and explore what’s known about the worlds of Marathon through a new lens—the eyes of Runners, who are stepping into the world of Tau Ceti IV and Marathon to uncover the secrets hidden in the wake of the original trilogy’s events,” says Goff. How and where Marathon overlaps, and sometimes clashes, with the original games is a story that’ll unfold over time. And just like those classic games, the truths, lies, and consequences of Tau Ceti’s mysteries will be placed in the hands of players to own, consider, and debate. “At the end of the day, our goal with Marathon is not to tell a story, but to build worlds in which stories can and will unfold,” says Goff. Experience the world of Tau Ceti for yourself in the cinematic short debuted as a final surprise in today’s showcase. Written and directed by the award-winning Alberto Mielgo, director of the “The Witness” and “Jibaro” in Love, Death & Robots. Play Video Shape the future of Marathon Bungie has been working with players and creators since early in Marathon’s development—the earliest Bungie has ever invited players into a game. Even before entering production, players were testing early prototypes and providing feedback that shaped the next builds. Hearing player’s thoughts early and often has made Marathon better in ways big and small. “When we first started playtesting, maps acted more like a persistent world,” says Game Director Joe Ziegler. “So you could drop in and out of the same map server instance multiple times. But we heard this made matches feel unfair and unpredictable, like someone could just be camping spawns forever, or the loot you were going for could’ve already been taken.” “After hearing this feedback, we moved to the design we have today, where each match is a fresh start for everyone. This consistent starting point means you and your teammates can better strategize before each run, and then you can race enemy teams to fight for the loot you’re looking for,” says Ziegler. With Marathon now revealed, it’s time to expand playtests so Bungie can continue development alongside players’ feedback. “We’re beyond excited to invite more players into Marathon and to hear what they think,” says Ziegler. “Plus we have so much more to share in the weeks and months ahead. The journey is really just getting started.” You can sign up for your chance to play in this month’s Closed Alpha Test by joining the community Discord. Marathon launches September 24 on PS5, Steam, and Xbox Series X|S. View the full article

This weekend Bungie revealed Marathon’s sci-fi-fueled gameplay to the world. The studio, celebrated for its sublime first-person gunplay and ever-expanding gameplay, is venturing into the extraction-shooter genre when the game launches on September 24. The Marathon premise is simple and enticing: load up your Runner with valuable gear, compete with other players to secure more loot, and risk it all trying to extract with all the goods. I had the opportunity to catch up with Marathon Game Director Joe Ziegler hot off the heels of this reveal, diving deeper into the details around Bungie’s next game. We cover lots of ground, including Bungie’s approach to a new genre, tapping into the power of PS5, the game’s bold art style, and more. Play Video Tim Turi: Congratulations on the big gameplay reveal! How are you and the team feeling following the event? Joe Ziegler: It’s pretty exciting. The term I’ve been using a lot is “nerve-cited.” It’s a labor of love we’ve been working on for a few years now, and that definitely comes with the passion that we’ve poured into it, iterating with our audiences, and this desire to produce something amazing to play and to see. Having it touch real players’ hands for the first time is thrilling, because we do this to excite and entertain them in amazing ways, but also nerve wracking. You know, you question a lot of decisions you made. You’re really hoping that all the things that you’ve thought of are really what players care about. And we feel like we’re there, but we’re really excited to see what players have to say. During the development of Marathon, were there specific moments or experiences that made the Bungie team realize it was onto something special? So many of them are these unpredictable moments. Moments where you thought one thing was going to happen, but another thing happened. In our game, you’re traveling to this mysterious world where danger could lurk around every corner. Sometimes you turn a corner and you’re face to face with the United Earth Space Council (UESC), these really brutal and dangerous opponents inside of our game. Or sometimes you’re just traversing across the map and bullets are whizzing by from another crew that has seen you. And some of those moments get extremely exciting, because you don’t think you’re going to make it out of it, and you turn the tables, or you just barely eke by, and you find your way out to the exfil. When you get out, you’re just shaking with an awesome intensity that you’re going to remember for a long time. What’s the backstory behind the name “Marathon?” In the original (1994) game, “Marathon” is the name of the colony ship sent out from Earth by the UESC. They sent it past the reaches of our solar system to establish the first colony on a system called Tau Ceti. And so the UESC Marathon is kind of a weird ship built into an asteroid-like moon, and then sent out to make the long journey. …if you were to make me guess, I’d assume that “Marathon” refers to the fact that it was a 500-year journey, and was an appropriate name for a very, very long commitment of travel. We’re using the Marathon name [for this new 2025 game] because of the legacy of the IP. We’re taking a lot of those familiar IP elements, the UESC Marathon ship as well, and bringing it to light in modern day. We’re reinterpreting a lot of things, but there are a lot of familiar elements as well, such as the ship and Tau Ceti, that I think fans from the past will really enjoy seeing. Bungie is famous for its pitch-perfect gunplay. How do you go about being true to that legacy while making Marathon’s FPS action feel like its own thing? A lot of it comes from the nature of the game and the types of decisions that you want players to be making and how you want them to make those decisions. This game is very much about survival. And in survival-style games, a lot of the pressure is on you to manage resources, be adaptive, and be situationally aware. What we’re doing with our gunplay and our systems is we’re taking a lot of that familiar action base that players really enjoy, and we’re adding intense survival layers on top. For example, you don’t regenerate health automatically very quickly, but you have consumables that help you heal. Part of that is to create moments where you make decisions to either go into battle or fall back. You have to think about the resources that you’re carrying. View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image Do you have a message for any players curious about extraction shooters, but are a little nervous or intimidated by the risk/reward? I will definitely say that this game is challenging and intense, but it’s very rewarding. As you learn it you’ll feel yourself developing survival skills that you may not have experienced before, that begin to make you feel masterful. We have also designed this game to feel really natural on controllers as well. There are a lot of PC extraction shooters where mouse and keyboard are a little bit more common, and so in designing for that what we’re trying to do is get the interface and gameplay finickiness out so you can play it naturally. We want you to be able to focus on adapting and learning those survival skills to pull off memorable runs. Obviously players are risking their valuable loadouts in a given match. Can you tell us about any persistent progression elements? We want to make sure the players feel like they get something for their time spent in every match. Some of that is going to be experience-based. For example, leveling your runner level in any given season. Some of that will be related to upgrades provided by factions. As you gather materials or get currencies, you’ll be able to increase some of your overall character stats. So you might get a little bit more stamina, or you might be able to loot boxes a little bit faster. Some of it will also increase the options that you have to purchase from an in-game item store called the Black Market. You can use the currency you collect in game to purchase different weapons, implants, and upgrades based on what you unlock inside of that upgrade tree. So as you play the game you’ll see a lot of your options grow. What ways is Bungie taking advantage of PlayStation 5 technology for Marathon? We definitely have haptic support for [DualSense wireless controllers], which is pretty fun when you get into some of those gunfights and you feel feedback on your fingertips. We’re also supporting the Tempest 3D Audio engine, so you’re going to hear a lot of immersive audio. In addition, a lot of the rendering technology on the PS5, and especially on the PS5 Pro, is really awesome. So we’re planning some awesome usage of PSSR (PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution), and some additional support in upscaling and resolution. So if you have a PS5 or PS5 Pro you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how we deliver on the console. Play Video Marathon’s art style is not quite like anything else out there right now. Can you walk us through what makes it so striking and unique? Our aesthetic is hugely inspired by graphic design and a lot of modern product design trappings. But I think what really sets us apart is whenever I look at a [Marathon] image, I go, “I think I understand it,” or “I think I don’t… but I really like it.” There’s something really enticing about visuals that look so bold and graphic like something you’d see in print but also pulled onto the screen and mixed with this technological sci-fi shaping. That, and also put against a very organic background and the contrast of all these things really pops. It’s a mixture that I don’t think we’ve seen a lot of before, and we’re really excited by it, because it creates all those visual contrasts and conflicts that go together to help the tone of the game, which is really about paranoia. It’s about intensity. It’s about not knowing the truth you know, seeking to find it, and constantly being wrapped into a rabbit hole of information. You don’t know what’s true or false. So all those things kind of come together really nicely through the art style as well. Is there anything else you’d like to make sure the PlayStation audience takes away from this big reveal? If you’re a person who really enjoys getting into survival experiences. If you’re a person who really enjoys testing your mettle with other players inside of that space trying to do the same. And if you’re a player who really, just wants to go on a thrilling ride that you never know the outcome of… I think this is going to be a game for you. Especially because we’ve focused so much on making this an experience that translates across platforms really well. I’m especially excited to see PlayStation players come in and experience the genre and our offering inside of it. We’ve poured a lot of passion and love into [Marathon], and we’ve played it a lot, and we played a lot for fun too. So we’re excited to have them join our community, show us what’s good, and show us how good they can be. Marathon launches September 24 on PS5, Steam, and Xbox Series X|S. View the full article

With a backdrop of a challenging economic environment, including high inflation and fluctuating exchange rates, SIE has made the tough decision to raise the recommended retail price (RRP) of the PlayStation 5 console in select markets in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Australia and New Zealand. The updated PS5 RRPs are effective starting April 14, as follows*: EuropePS5 Digital Edition – €499.99 (No pricing changes for the standard PS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive) UKPS5 Digital Edition – £429.99 (No pricing changes for the standard PS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive)  AustraliaStandard PS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive – AUD $829.95 PS5 Digital Edition – AUD $749.95New Zealand Standard PS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive – NZD $949.95 PS5 Digital Edition – NZD $859.95 PS5 Pro RRPs remain unchanged. Additionally, the Disc Drive for PS5 will be getting an RRP decrease effective starting April 14, as follows: Europe€79.99UK £69.99AustraliaAUD $124.95New Zealand NZD $139.95 * Select markets in EMEA not listed above may also receive RRP increases. Please check with your local retailer and direct.playstation.com where available. View the full article

This weekend Bungie revealed Marathon’s sci-fi-fueled gameplay to the world. The studio, celebrated for its sublime first-person gunplay and ever-expanding gameplay, is venturing into the extraction-shooter genre when the game launches on September 23. The Marathon premise is simple and enticing: load up your Runner with valuable gear, compete with other players to secure more loot, and risk it all trying to extract with all the goods. I had the opportunity to catch up with Marathon Game Director Joe Ziegler hot off the heels of this reveal, diving deeper into the details around Bungie’s next game. We cover lots of ground, including Bungie’s approach to a new genre, tapping into the power of PS5, the game’s bold art style, and more. Play Video Tim Turi: Congratulations on the big gameplay reveal! How are you and the team feeling following the event? Joe Ziegler: It’s pretty exciting. The term I’ve been using a lot is “nerve-cited.” It’s a labor of love we’ve been working on for a few years now, and that definitely comes with the passion that we’ve poured into it, iterating with our audiences, and this desire to produce something amazing to play and to see. Having it touch real players’ hands for the first time is thrilling, because we do this to excite and entertain them in amazing ways, but also nerve wracking. You know, you question a lot of decisions you made. You’re really hoping that all the things that you’ve thought of are really what players care about. And we feel like we’re there, but we’re really excited to see what players have to say. During the development of Marathon, were there specific moments or experiences that made the Bungie team realize it was onto something special? So many of them are these unpredictable moments. Moments where you thought one thing was going to happen, but another thing happened. In our game, you’re traveling to this mysterious world where danger could lurk around every corner. Sometimes you turn a corner and you’re face to face with the United Earth Space Council (UESC), these really brutal and dangerous opponents inside of our game. Or sometimes you’re just traversing across the map and bullets are whizzing by from another crew that has seen you. And some of those moments get extremely exciting, because you don’t think you’re going to make it out of it, and you turn the tables, or you just barely eke by, and you find your way out to the exfil. When you get out, you’re just shaking with an awesome intensity that you’re going to remember for a long time. What’s the backstory behind the name “Marathon?” In the original (1994) game, “Marathon” is the name of the colony ship sent out from Earth by the UESC. They sent it past the reaches of our solar system to establish the first colony on a system called Tau Ceti. And so the UESC Marathon is kind of a weird ship built into an asteroid-like moon, and then sent out to make the long journey. …if you were to make me guess, I’d assume that “Marathon” refers to the fact that it was a 500-year journey, and was an appropriate name for a very, very long commitment of travel. We’re using the Marathon name [for this new 2025 game] because of the legacy of the IP. We’re taking a lot of those familiar IP elements, the UESC Marathon ship as well, and bringing it to light in modern day. We’re reinterpreting a lot of things, but there are a lot of familiar elements as well, such as the ship and Tau Ceti, that I think fans from the past will really enjoy seeing. Bungie is famous for its pitch-perfect gunplay. How do you go about being true to that legacy while making Marathon’s FPS action feel like its own thing? A lot of it comes from the nature of the game and the types of decisions that you want players to be making and how you want them to make those decisions. This game is very much about survival. And in survival-style games, a lot of the pressure is on you to manage resources, be adaptive, and be situationally aware. What we’re doing with our gunplay and our systems is we’re taking a lot of that familiar action base that players really enjoy, and we’re adding intense survival layers on top. For example, you don’t regenerate health automatically very quickly, but you have consumables that help you heal. Part of that is to create moments where you make decisions to either go into battle or fall back. You have to think about the resources that you’re carrying. View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image Do you have a message for any players curious about extraction shooters, but are a little nervous or intimidated by the risk/reward? I will definitely say that this game is challenging and intense, but it’s very rewarding. As you learn it you’ll feel yourself developing survival skills that you may not have experienced before, that begin to make you feel masterful. We have also designed this game to feel really natural on controllers as well. There are a lot of PC extraction shooters where mouse and keyboard are a little bit more common, and so in designing for that what we’re trying to do is get the interface and gameplay finickiness out so you can play it naturally. We want you to be able to focus on adapting and learning those survival skills to pull off memorable runs. Obviously players are risking their valuable loadouts in a given match. Can you tell us about any persistent progression elements? We want to make sure the players feel like they get something for their time spent in every match. Some of that is going to be experience-based. For example, leveling your runner level in any given season. Some of that will be related to upgrades provided by factions. As you gather materials or get currencies, you’ll be able to increase some of your overall character stats. So you might get a little bit more stamina, or you might be able to loot boxes a little bit faster. Some of it will also increase the options that you have to purchase from an in-game item store called the Black Market. You can use the currency you collect in game to purchase different weapons, implants, and upgrades based on what you unlock inside of that upgrade tree. So as you play the game you’ll see a lot of your options grow. What ways is Bungie taking advantage of PlayStation 5 technology for Marathon? We definitely have haptic support for [DualSense wireless controllers], which is pretty fun when you get into some of those gunfights and you feel feedback on your fingertips. We’re also supporting the Tempest 3D Audio engine, so you’re going to hear a lot of immersive audio. In addition, a lot of the rendering technology on the PS5, and especially on the PS5 Pro, is really awesome. So we’re planning some awesome usage of PSSR (PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution), and some additional support in upscaling and resolution. So if you have a PS5 or PS5 Pro you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how we deliver on the console. Play Video [EMBED Gameplay Reveal Trailer] Marathon’s art style is not quite like anything else out there right now. Can you walk us through what makes it so striking and unique? Our aesthetic is hugely inspired by graphic design and a lot of modern product design trappings. But I think what really sets us apart is whenever I look at a [Marathon] image, I go, “I think I understand it,” or “I think I don’t… but I really like it.” There’s something really enticing about visuals that look so bold and graphic like something you’d see in print but also pulled onto the screen and mixed with this technological sci-fi shaping. That, and also put against a very organic background and the contrast of all these things really pops. It’s a mixture that I don’t think we’ve seen a lot of before, and we’re really excited by it, because it creates all those visual contrasts and conflicts that go together to help the tone of the game, which is really about paranoia. It’s about intensity. It’s about not knowing the truth you know, seeking to find it, and constantly being wrapped into a rabbit hole of information. You don’t know what’s true or false. So all those things kind of come together really nicely through the art style as well. Is there anything else you’d like to make sure the PlayStation audience takes away from this big reveal? If you’re a person who really enjoys getting into survival experiences. If you’re a person who really enjoys testing your mettle with other players inside of that space trying to do the same. And if you’re a player who really, just wants to go on a thrilling ride that you never know the outcome of… I think this is going to be a game for you. Especially because we’ve focused so much on making this an experience that translates across platforms really well. I’m especially excited to see PlayStation players come in and experience the genre and our offering inside of it. We’ve poured a lot of passion and love into [Marathon], and we’ve played it a lot, and we played a lot for fun too. So we’re excited to have them join our community, show us what’s good, and show us how good they can be. Marathon launches September 23 on PS5, Steam, and Xbox Series X|S. View the full article

What happened to the ghost colony on Tau Ceti IV and the infamous Marathon ship that started it all? Decades after the original Marathon trilogy, the Bungie development team is ready to dive back into the world of Tau Ceti IV in their upcoming team-based extraction shooter, Marathon. The game launches on PS5, Steam, and Xbox Series X|S on September 23. Today we’ll be covering some of the highlights from the live Marathon Gameplay Reveal Showcase. For all the details, you can watch the livestream here. Play Video A deadly competition In Marathon, players work together in crews of three to scavenge the remnants of the lost colony on Tau Ceti IV. In their search for the powerful weapons and equipment left behind, they’ll face AI security forces, otherworldly threats, and rival Runner teams competing for loot. Death is part of the journey—it’s a cutthroat world, and it’s not possible to survive every expedition. But every time you make it out alive, you get to keep everything you scavenged, which means you’ll grow in power and fill your vault across matches. You’re only ever one run away from your next big score. For your first look at gameplay, check out the Gameplay Reveal Trailer debuted in today’s livestream. Play Video Enjoy your new shell At the heart of Marathon are Runners. Runners are cybernetic mercenaries who’ve given up their human form for biosynthetic shells. They’ve sacrificed a piece of their humanity for a slice of immortality that allows their consciousness to be transferred upon death. View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image In Marathon, you’ll choose from a roster of Runners with unique abilities, stats, and styles. While each Runner brings their own flare, they’re also a foundation for you to customize your playstyle. To do so, you’ll collect implants and other equipment during your runs that you can use to augment your Runner and dial them into how you want to play. “For example, Glitch is all about agility, movement, and going fast. You can lean into this style harder by stacking implants and upgrades that reduce heat build-up and allow you to keep running, jumping, and sliding longer before having to cool down,” says Kevin Yanes, Senior Design Lead. “There are also rare items that can really push the boundaries like Prestige Cores. Glitch has one that will upgrade her double jump to a triple jump, giving you a lot of maneuverability in the air.” Combined with Bungie’s best-in-class gunplay and a wide range of weapons to loot, you can flex your Runner into multiple different playstyles. Learn more about Runners (and more) in the new Gameplay Overview Trailer. Play Video Returning to Tau Ceti The original Marathon series released in the 1990s established a foundation for experiential storytelling that’s become a hallmark for Bungie games. “The interweaving of narratives, events, and characters in the original trilogy delivered a world of discovery, wonder, and misdirection,” says Narrative Leader Jonathan Goff. Players were challenged to engage with the stories they encountered on their own terms, either as passive observers or active investigators into computer terminal tidbits and other environmental clues. “We’re embracing this approach to expand and explore what’s known about the worlds of Marathon through a new lens—the eyes of Runners, who are stepping into the world of Tau Ceti IV and Marathon to uncover the secrets hidden in the wake of the original trilogy’s events,” says Goff. How and where Marathon overlaps, and sometimes clashes, with the original games is a story that’ll unfold over time. And just like those classic games, the truths, lies, and consequences of Tau Ceti’s mysteries will be placed in the hands of players to own, consider, and debate. “At the end of the day, our goal with Marathon is not to tell a story, but to build worlds in which stories can and will unfold,” says Goff. Experience the world of Tau Ceti for yourself in the cinematic short debuted as a final surprise in today’s showcase. Written and directed by the award-winning Alberto Mielgo, director of the “The Witness” and “Jibaro” in Love, Death & Robots. Play Video Shape the future of Marathon Bungie has been working with players and creators since early in Marathon’s development—the earliest Bungie has ever invited players into a game. Even before entering production, players were testing early prototypes and providing feedback that shaped the next builds. Hearing player’s thoughts early and often has made Marathon better in ways big and small. “When we first started playtesting, maps acted more like a persistent world,” says Game Director Joe Ziegler. “So you could drop in and out of the same map server instance multiple times. But we heard this made matches feel unfair and unpredictable, like someone could just be camping spawns forever, or the loot you were going for could’ve already been taken.” “After hearing this feedback, we moved to the design we have today, where each match is a fresh start for everyone. This consistent starting point means you and your teammates can better strategize before each run, and then you can race enemy teams to fight for the loot you’re looking for,” says Ziegler. With Marathon now revealed, it’s time to expand playtests so Bungie can continue development alongside players’ feedback. “We’re beyond excited to invite more players into Marathon and to hear what they think,” says Ziegler. “Plus we have so much more to share in the weeks and months ahead. The journey is really just getting started.” You can sign up for your chance to play in this month’s Closed Alpha Test by joining the community Discord. Marathon launches September 23 on PS5, Steam, and Xbox Series X|S. View the full article

Email us at PSPodcast@sony.com! Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or download here Hey, everybody! Sid, Kristen, Tim, and I are back this week to discuss Days Gone Remastered and the new hit indie game Blue Prince. We also get Tim’s top five most-played PlayStation games and discover what new titles everyone has been checking out. Stuff We Talked About Next week’s release highlights: Darkest Dungeon II | PS5, PS4 Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn | PS5 EA Sports College Football 25 | PS5 Marathon — Gameplay Reveal Showcase on April 12 Blue Prince — Behind-the-scenes with the devs PlayStation Portal — Cloud Game Streaming Beta features Days Gone Remastered — New Horde Assault mode deep dive Bloom & Rage Lost Records — Creative Director interview all about Tape 2 The Last of Us Complete — Now available on PS5 Indiana Jones and the Great Circle — PS5 Pro features deep dive Assassin’s Creed Shadows — PS5 Pro features detailed by Bethesda PlayStation Plus Game Catalog April Extra and Premium Hogwarts Legacy | PS4, PS5 Blue Prince | PS5 Lost Records: Bloom & Rage – Tape 2 | PS5 EA Sports PGA Tour | PS5 Battlefield 1 | PS4 PlateUp! | PS4, PS5 Premium Alone in the Dark 2 | PS4, PS5 War of the Monsters | PS4, PS5 The Cast View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image Sid Shuman – Senior Director of Content Communications, SIE View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image Kristen Zitani – Senior Content Communications Specialist, SIE View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image O’Dell Harmon Jr. – Content Communications Specialist, SIE View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image Tim Turi – Content Communications Manager, SIE Thanks to Dormilón for our rad theme song and show music. [Editor’s note: PSN game release dates are subject to change without notice. Game details are gathered from press releases from their individual publishers and/or ESRB rating descriptions.] View the full article

Last week, we asked you to climb to great heights and share images from above in the game of your choice using #PSshare #PSBlog. Here are this week’s highlights: call_me_xavii shares Aloy taking a hot air balloon ride in Horizon Forbidden West PattyGnand shares the four girls sitting on a lookout ledge in Lost Records: Bloom & Rage secondcapture shares Wander raising a sword atop the head of a colossus in Shadow of the Colossus deogovakin shares their ship zooming through space in No Man’s Sky wingsforsmiles shares Cal being flown over lava in Star Wars Jedi Survivor xenobitz shares the player dropping into Fortnite Search #PSshare #PSBlog on Twitter or Instagram to see more entries to this week’s theme. Want to be featured in the next Share of the Week? THEME: The Last of Us Complete SUBMIT BY: 11:59 PM PT on April 16, 2025 Next week, we’re joining Joel, Ellie, and Abby on their complete journey. Share epic moments from The Last of Us Complete using #PSshare #PSBlog for a chance to be featured. View the full article

Hello everyone! We just released Title Update 1.0.2 which added some key improvements to the PS5 Pro version of Assassin’s Creed Shadows, including the addition of PSSR support and the inclusion of ray traced reflections for Balanced mode. To celebrate, we wanted to give you deeper insight into the work done to bring this version – the best console version of Shadows – to life. Pushing our rendering vision As gamers, we are always excited to see new hardware. As developers, we are even more excited, and the PS5 Pro was no exception. As soon as we were briefed on the new capabilities of the console, we were excited to take advantage of it; the PS5 Pro allowed us to push our rendering vision to its full potential across all modes – Quality, Balanced and Performance. First, let’s recap the three core technological improvements. The PS5 Pro has three compared to a standard PS5: It has a faster GPU. It has new ray tracing capabilities (BVH8 support). It has PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution. Play Video Leveraging the improved GPU and ray tracing capabilities Early in the conception phase of AC Shadows, we decided to revolutionize our lighting pipeline by moving from a pre-baked global illumination1 system with limited in-game flexibility to a runtime, ray traced, one. There are several image quality benefits to this, and it allows for much more dynamism within the world, as lighting can always adapt to what happens in-game. Quality is also increased, and subtle, yet important, lighting details emerge when using ray traced global illumination (RTGI). While the PS5 allowed us to realistically target 30 and 40 FPS with its native ray tracing support, it did not entirely make it possible at 60 FPS given everything else happening on the GPU: simulations, geometry rasterization & shading, character deformation & hair rendering, etc. Play Video However, with the announcement of the PS5 Pro last year, we knew we had all the ingredients to build the ultimate console version of AC Shadows. By itself, the PS5 Pro’s faster GPU helps performance without much effort from developers, but the game changing technology is the improved ray tracing capabilities of the PS5 Pro that BVH82 (BVH stands for ‘bounding volume hierarchy’, more below) offered over BVH4. With our implementation of BVH8 support on PS5 Pro, we were able to speed up GPU tasks involving hardware ray tracing usage by about 300%. Those 2 critical upgrades, the faster GPU and support for BVH8 made it possible for us to realistically target a stable 60 FPS while showcasing our new generation ray traced lighting engine. What is global illumination? In game rendering, global illumination (GI) refers to a set of techniques used to simulate the way light interacts with surfaces in a 3D environment. Rather than just illuminating objects with direct light from a light source (like the sun or a lamp), GI accounts for indirect lighting, which is light that bounces off surfaces and contributes to the overall lighting of a scene. Think of the following scenario: If you place a red box close to a white wall in a well-lit room, the red color will “bleed” onto the nearby wall. What is a BVH ? A BVH, or bounding volume hierarchy, is an acceleration structure that is core to the use of hardware ray tracing in 3D graphics. Think of it as boxes within boxes. If you need to trace a ray, determining which big boxes intersect the ray first, then testing recursively is what makes ray tracing possible with performance matching the requirements of modern games. Typically, BVH have 4 big boxes (BVH4) meaning that each box can contain 4 other boxes. With BVH8, we have 8 boxes per box, which allows for faster traversal of the BVH when doing ray tracing GPU tasks as the tree is shallower, each node having twice as many children. Something unique to console players on PS5 Pro: ray traced reflections Ray traced global illumination at 60 FPS in an open world is a nice feat alone. However, Given AC Shadows’ delay, we had time to assess how we could push things further, and we became confident that we could implement ray traced reflections1 in time for launch. Play Video Using ray tracing reflections solves many issues encountered with classical techniques such as SSLR and cube maps. While some games on PS5 Pro had opted for a single 60 FPS mode, our approach was: if a choice between playing 30, 40 and 60 FPS was good for PS5 players, why not replicate that for PS5 Pro players, if meaningful improvements could be offered in each mode? With ray traced reflections, we believe that a significant uplift in photorealistic rendering is achieved. Again, this was possible because of the faster GPU as well as the 300% speed up in ray tracing capabilities that we were able to achieve by leveraging BVH8. At launch, we offered ray traced reflections only when playing in Quality mode, but we are happy to report that title update 1.0.2 brings ray traced reflections to the PS5 Pro Balanced mode, an improvement many of you have requested. Once again, Balanced mode offers a great compromise between quality & performance, for players with supporting TVs. Play Video In short, PS5 Pro brings: Ray traced global illumination in Performance Mode, (versus the pre-baked global illumination on the standard PS5.) Ray traced reflections in Quality and Balanced Mode (complimentary with the ray traced global illumination present on standard PS5.) What are reflections? Reflections refer to how the light reflects on surfaces that are shiny, metallic, etc. While reflections are mostly noticed on those types of surfaces, they affect most pixels on screen in a very subtle way that grounds the image. Usually, this is done using information on screen, with a technique called screen space local reflections (SSLR) or by using older techniques such as cube maps, which are pre-baked offline or dynamically rendered in-game with lots of latency and a lower resolution, because of memory & storage constraints. Ray traced reflection solves the main problem with SSLR, which is that it can’t reflect what is outside of the screen and has a much higher level of fidelity than cube maps. Supporting PSSR With all we’ve discussed so far, we’ve only covered two out of three key improvements that the PS5 Pro brings. What’s left is a piece of PS5 Pro technology called PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution, a.k.a. PSSR. First, let’s explain what PSSR is. PSSR is an AI-driven upscaler, meaning it takes an image rendered at lower resolution, say 1080p, and upscales it up to 2160p, approximating 3 out of 4 pixels in other words (upscaling isn’t anything new; we’ve been using a technique called Temporal Anti-Aliasing, or TAA (TAAU), for upscaling since Assassin’s Creed Origins.) The benefits of upscaling are great: lowering the render resolution results in higher framerate. The tradeoff is one of image clarity, and sometimes visual artefacts. TAA is an analytical technique, meaning that it is based on math & statistics, broadly speaking. Play Video Upscaling combined with dynamic resolution scaling (DRS), a technique where the render resolution changes depending on how well the GPU performed in the AI, allows us to maximize the visual fidelity of the game by lowering the pre-upscaled resolution in more demanding scenarios. Without DRS, we would need to calibrate our budgets for the worst scenario, even if those occur only in specific circumstances and once in the entire game. Therefore, a good DRS implementation paired with a great upscaler offers the best of both worlds: higher framerate and more visual fidelity. AI upscalers are typically trained with reference footage in the target resolution. Contrary to an analytical upscaler, they can work with lower pre-upscaling resolutions better, as their model encodes behaviors which are hard, if impossible, to reproduce analytically. With the delay in AC Shadows, we had valuable opportunities to explore early implementations of PSSR in other PS5 Pro enhanced titles, and to conduct our own in-depth analysis on AC Shadows. We found that PSSR provided a superior experience vs. TAA overall, and was definitely something that could benefit players. Recognizing this, we reached out to Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) for further collaboration. Sony worked closely with us, providing updated model parameters that were needed to perfect our implementation in the latest PS5 Pro firmware, which was just released. When compared to TAA, PSSR brings a more stable image with notably less shimmering artefacts, that brings up the image quality. Play Video With this firmware being out now, we’re happy to say that official PSSR support is now available in AC Shadows through our new title update, as both the improvements made at the system software level and our work in-engine will now seamlessly work together. Players that have already played the game on PS5 Pro will need to activate the option in the video tab of the options menu, but all new players will by default play with PSSR activated. As always, we’re committed to improving our implementation in upcoming title updates as this technology continues to evolve. Conclusion With ray traced global illumination in Performance mode (60 FPS), ray traced reflections coming to the Balanced mode (40 FPS mode) as well as Quality Mode (30 FPS) and PSSR now available in all modes, we’re very satisfied with our PS5 Pro version and believe it is the ultimate console experience for AC Shadows, one that rivals ultra-high-end PC gaming. We’ve fully leveraged all the 3 core technology pillars of the PS5 Pro, and combined, these really support our technological vision and have us really excited for the future! We hope you enjoyed this technical deep dive into the making of the PS5 Pro version of Assassin’s Creed. Thanks Nicolas Lopez, Technical Architect and Sebastien Daigneault, Project Lead Programmer – Rendering for helping contribute to this article.. View the full article

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is coming to PlayStation 5 consoles next week! Set between “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and “The Last Crusade”, Indiana Jones and The Great Circle is a first-person, single-player adventure that will take you all over the world, uncovering clues and solving an ancient mystery. Your journey will take you from the hallowed halls of the Vatican and the arid deserts of Egypt to the lush and sunken temples of Sukhothai and the frigid peaks of the Himalayas. Play Video Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is set to launch on PlayStation 5 on April 17 (or up to 2 days early if you pre-order the Premium Edition), showcasing advanced features that leverage the console’s capabilities. “We’re so excited to bring Indiana Jones and the Great Circle to PlayStation players,” says Production Director John Jennings. “Each platform introduces something unique to the experience, and we’ve worked hard to ensure our use of the PlayStation 5’s suite of features directly benefits you and the game. We look forward to hearing your Indy stories!” DualSense controller features Indiana Jones and the Great Circle throws you right into the action with the DualSense controller’s immersion-enhancing features, including haptic feedback and adaptive triggers. Whether you’re in combat, traversing through your environment with the help of your whip, or using tools like your camera and lighter, you’ll feel every action in the palms of your hands. Additionally, the lightbar is connected to game actions to give you visual feedback about Indy’s current status. For example, when you enter combat, the LED light around the touchpad will turn yellow, or pulse yellow if the NPCs are searching for you. If your health gets low, the light will pulse red until you heal up. Using a consumable to restore health like food or a bandage will turn the light green for a few seconds. Performance enhancements The game benefits from frictionless loading, selective installation that prioritizes your system language (other languages can be installed separately), and SSD optimization, ensuring a seamless experience with faster streaming and loading. The Great Circle also takes advantage of the PlayStation 5’s advanced CPU and GPU capabilities to achieve stable 60 FPS with high quality resolution. Visual and audio immersion Indiana Jones and the Great Circle makes extensive use of the PlayStation 5’s ray-tracing capabilities both on the base model and the PlayStation 5 Pro console. The global illumination system allows for greater detail and quality as well as more realistic and dynamic lighting throughout the world. Audio immersion is enhanced by 3D audio and HD rumble during cinematic scenes and gameplay, letting you feel like you’re right in the scene as Indy himself. Community Game Help Need a little help progressing in the game? Who better to lend a hand than your fellow players. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle supports Community Game Help, allowing you to access tips from other players on specific game sections. Activities have been set up for all objectives in the game (including sub-steps in each mission), so you’ll never feel like you’re alone on your adventure. Play Video PlayStation 5 Pro enhanced Make your journey around the world even more striking with Indiana Jones and the Great Circle on PlayStation 5 Pro. The optimized console performance on the PS5 Pro ensures you achieve higher and more consistent frame rates, making every moment of your adventure unforgettable. Experience next-level realism and image clarity with native 4K resolution and advanced ray tracing. “Playing Indiana Jones and the Great Circle at a native 4K resolution really is the best way to appreciate the level of detail the team at MachineGames has poured into every corner of the world,” says Jennings. “You could spend hours just walking around the different environments admiring every little thing, from each artifact in Marshall College’s impressive collection to the verdant beauty of Sukhothai’s jungles.” Learn more about Community Game Help here. View the full article

Whether you’re dancing as Aloy, Varl, Teersa or Erend through a post-post-apocalyptic world made of LEGO bricks, you need a soundtrack that can keep up. Today we’re celebrating the launch of the official LEGO Horizon Adventures soundtrack, a collection of tracks that reimagines Aloy’s journey in a whole new light. To kick things off, we’re debuting a special music video for post-post-apocalyptic dance party by mxmtoon, a synth-powered anthem that perfectly captures the game’s playful energy and mxmtoon’s passion for both music and gaming. Play Video Dancing through a LEGO World For mxmtoon, the collaboration was personal, playful, and packed with nostalgia. “The very first moment that I started writing ‘post-post-apocalyptic dance party’, I was sitting in my grandma’s living room in Florida. I was just so excited to have the opportunity to write a song that felt inspired by a character that I’ve grown to love and it just felt really natural,” she says. Her love for both LEGO bricks and games, and the Horizon series helped guide the tone of the track from the very first note. “My inspiration behind creating and writing this song is definitely because I grew up loving and playing a bunch of the LEGO games, and I love music. It felt like the perfect opportunity to express both of those interests and loves into one project.” That blend of influences helped shape not only the sound of the track, but the storytelling within it, referencing nods related to the lore and unique setting of Horizon. “There were so many elements of the Horizon series that were incredibly influential to me when I was writing this song because you’re provided this really rich landscape of lore and world-building through the canvas of Horizon Zero Dawn which was a world I was really familiar with as a fan of the game. It was really fun to involve those pieces of lore and vocabulary into moments of the song, whether you’re talking about the Focus or you’re talking about the landscape of a post-post-apocalyptic world. So it felt really fun just to be like, naturally a nerd about the game and involve all the elements and bits that I loved learning about while I was playing into writing the song.” The whole process also stirred up a bit of nostalgia for mxmtoon. “It was like being 15 again, writing a piece of music that I was just excited to make, about something I wasn’t quite sure what it would be yet, but eventually turned into a project I’m so proud to be a part of.” Diving deeper into the soundtrack While mxmtoon brings the pop, the rest of the musical world of LEGO Horizon Adventures is shaped by composer Homay Schmitz, whose score strikes the perfect balance between adventurous and whimsical. “Right from the start the idea was to keep it light and upbeat rather than going too epic for most of it,” says Homay. “The game has such a playful and lighthearted charm to it, we wanted to reflect that in the overall tone‬ throughout the score. When you go through the game you have all these different environments that‬ change from folkier stomps and claps to slightly funky synth pop to something that has hints of a western‬ desert blues and over to orchestral metal but the through thread was always to keep it fun, bright and‬ adventurous or something you could potentially groove to.‬” The game’s visual design also played a key role in shaping the sound. “The very first time I saw gameplay I thought how stunning and detailed everything looked,” Homay points out. “Especially the movement of each of the LEGO elements and the way the waterfall moves. It created a very specific style and there was such a‬ warmth and friendliness about it all.‬” Working within the LEGO version of the Horizon universe meant embracing both its emotional roots and its reimagined, light-hearted tone. Homay explains: “‬Some themes from the original game were carried over to create a sense of familiarity and tie the two‬ worlds together. For example, ‘‬Aloy’s Theme’‬, written by Joris De Man, was a choice that made sense to keep for the main character, which is instantly recognisable and was peppered throughout the game. It just had to be infused with LEGO DNA to transform its beautifully haunting‬ quality into something more sprightly.‬” That playful twist did not mean abandoning the essence of Horizon. Homay wove familiar motifs into the score in clever, unexpected ways. “One detail I personally found really exciting, though maybe more subtle, was having access to a few of the original game’s sound sources. These included a combination of tuned and untuned percussion put together by composers‬ The Flight‬, which we were able to incorporate into the new score. Having played‬ Horizon‬ and listened to its soundtrack, I recognised those sounds immediately. It felt really special to use‬ elements from such a beloved game in LEGO form—another way of bridging the two worlds.‬” Fans might have noticed one more Easter Egg while playing the game, says Homay: “‘In The Flood’ from Horizon Forbidden West was played back by a baby mobile as a lullaby‬ and appears in one of the cut scenes!” Homay had to get creative while composing some of her favorite pieces on the soundtrack: “If I had to pick a couple it would be ‘Jewel Tones’ and ‘Melodies on the Mesa’. One of which made good use of Boomwhackers, which serve as percussion instruments and are basically tuned plastic tubes, and material wise, fits nicely into the LEGO world. I have also not worked with them before so that was a fun palette to explore!” Whether it’s Aloy soaring through a LEGO version of Mother’s Heart or battling a Sawtooth made of LEGO bricks, the music punctuates each moment with personality and punch. “Finding the right tone for the first combat cue was both enjoyable but maybe also slightly challenging‬,” Homay recalls. “I had to strike the right balance between fun and intensity to make it drive enough for the fight but without ever sounding too threatening or too dark in any way. Once that was established though, it set a‬ good marker for the other following combat cues to safely go to battle without it ever getting too intense or‬ unsettling.‬” Speaking of epic battle tracks, Homay mentions the cue she worked on with composer Harry Brokensha: “The orchestral rock metal mix for the final boss. There are a fair few different genres that can be found overall‬ in the game, which were all fun to work on but I really loved what Harry did with this track, which is‬ probably the most dramatic cue amongst them all but still has all the fun elements it needs in it!”‬ Homay looks back with fondness on the collaboration with the development teams and the response of the community. “‬From start to finish, it was an absolute delight to work with such an incredible team! We collaborated closely on the music and had regular catch-ups to discuss the LEGO‬ Horizon‬ world, its themes, and the‬ styles within it.” We are all super excited for the Horizon community to get to enjoy the soundtrack anywhere they go! The official LEGO Horizon Adventures soundtrack is now available on all major streaming platforms—so whether you’re reliving your favorite in-game moments or vibing out to ‘post-post-apocalyptic dance party’, there’s something here for every fan. Stream the full soundtrack here today! 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Here at Naughty Dog, we have some exciting news to share with The Last of Us fans, whether you’ve been with us since its debut in 2013 or are just wanting to jump into the games now. We wanted to celebrate our studio, the series, and you, the fans, by making it easier than ever to experience this story. We’re proud to introduce The Last of Us Complete. Check out our announce trailer below: Play Video Available today on the PlayStation 5 console, The Last of Us Complete allows players to experience both The Last of Us Part I and The Last of Us Part II Remastered in one package. The Last of Us Complete makes it easier than ever to experience the full story on PS5, whether you’ve played both entries, just one, or have yet to immerse yourself in the world of Joel, Ellie, Abby, and all of our characters. The Last of Us Complete digital download is available now The complete experiences of Part I and Part II Remastered are the definitive ways to play each of these games. Our team rebuilt The Last of Us Part I from the ground up specifically with PlayStation 5 in mind, offering full DualSense support, 3D audio, and more. The Last of Us Part II Remastered allows you to not only experience an enhanced edition of the sequel, but also dive behind-the-scenes with hours of commentary, and additions like Lost Levels, the roguelike No Return mode, Guitar Free Play, and more. From our entire studio, thank you so much for your incredible support for The Last of Us and Naughty Dog over the years. This is such an exciting moment for both the franchise and our teams. We are so humbled by your personal stories of what the series has meant to you, have marveled at your incredible Photo Mode shots, and inspired to keep pushing ourselves forward to create more stories and worlds you’ll love. **3D Audio via built-in TV speakers or analogue/USB headphones. View the full article

During the recent 2025 ESO Direct livestream, The Elder Scrolls Online team unveiled an exciting year of adventures, stories, and improvements. This included the new 2025 Content Pass and Premium Edition, the Seasons of the Worm Cult zone and storyline, a unique kind of in-game event, and base-game additions. Want to know more? ESO’s Game Director Rich Lambert and Executive Producer Susan Kath are here to expand a little on what was revealed during the big show. Play Video A sequel 10 years in the making “For this year, we knew we wanted a story that celebrated 10 years of the game being live,” says Lambert. “We’ve always been interested in doing a sequel to the original launch game and figured this was the perfect opportunity. As we started in on the process, one piece of player feedback kept coming up—players wanted something different. So, we took that to heart this year.” Because of this feedback, the Seasons of the Worm Cult continues ESO’s base game story and returns Tamriel original bad guys to the fore: the Order of the Black Worm. In addition to the returning foe and storyline, Seasons of the Worm Cult introduces Solstice, a new zone divided by an arcane barrier known as the Writhing Wall. The wall itself is the focus of a new in-game event in Q3/4, which will take place between Seasons of the Worm Cult Part 1 and 2 and open the way to the second half of the zone and the conclusion of the larger storyline. ​​ “This is a new server-wide event—the shattering of the Writhing Wall—that will see players’ collaborative actions determine the outcome of the conflict,” explains Kath. “Solstice and the wall are all part of the 2025 Content Pass, but if you don’t have access and still want to help in the war effort, there will be special activities that everyone can participate in from mainland Tamriel as well.” Introducing 2025 Content Pass and 2025 Premium Edition Also announced during the ESO Direct was the 2025 Content Pass and 2025 Premium Edition. For the first time in the game’s history, you can acquire an entire year of adventures in one. “We’ve talked recently about our plans to move away from the yearly Chapter release model, and this year is where we’ll start that evolution,” says Kath. “In the past, because of the lead time and resources necessary to create Chapters, it’s been difficult to allocate time to experimental updates, because we had to have every little detail planned far in advance.” Now, the team has more flexibility to introduce emergent content such as the recent Cyrodiil Champions test, which saw players help the development team collect valuable PvP data and feedback on a unique Alliance War campaign. The 2025 Content Pass (and Premium Edition) includes a ton of adventures and challenges for you to discover, including Seasons of the Worm Cult Part 1 and 2 (zone and storyline), two dungeon packs, and access to the Writhing Wall event—everything coming in 2025 in one. “Another benefit for players this year is that it means there’s always something exciting around the corner, rather than a big release in June that you can play through and then find you’re waiting a year for the next big release,” explains Kath. “With all that in mind, this year is a transition year for us, and you’ll see even more changes coming in 2026.” Big base-game additions In addition to all the new adventures, the Update 46 base-game patch introduces a host of free updates for all ESO players, including the powerful Subclassing system. “Subclassing is something I’m very excited about,” says Lambert. “It gives you even more freedom and flexibility in how you play your character, without having to reroll a new one and lose all the time and progress you have put in over the years.” A major shakeup to the way you manage your character builds, Subclassing allows you to replace two different class skill lines to create your ideal hybrid playstyle. Arriving alongside Subclassing is the new Hero’s Return system—helping you get back into the game after a prolonged absence. “With all of these changes, we want to make it as easy as possible for past players to hop back in and check it all out, and that’s at the core of Hero’s Return, updating tutorials, and refreshing the early game zones,” says Kath. “We’re also looking to the ESO community for more insight and feedback into what they really want us to be working on next.” Your pass for adventure Big changes are on the horizon for The Elder Scrolls Online, and the above are just some of the new adventures and changes coming in 2025. Don’t forget, you can purchase the 2025 Content Pass or Premium Edition right now on the PlayStation Store and get immediate access to the Fallen Banners dungeon pack, with the Seasons of the Worm Cult Part 1 arriving June 18 on PS5 and PS4—we’ll see you in Tamriel! View the full article